Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Tico is a
colloquial term for a native of Costa
Rica. Costa Ricans are usually called ticos
– the feminine is tica and plural is
‘ticos; ticas’…….Costa Rica (meaning "rich coast" in Spanish),
is a country in Central America,
bordered by Nicaragua, Panama, Pacific Ocean and Caribbean
Sea. It is in news ….but
before that something on our neighbour…

Sylhet, also known as
Jalalabad; is one of the richest cities of Bangladesh. It is the principal
city and administrative capital of Sylhet Division. The city is located on the
banks of SurmaRiver
in the SurmaValley.
Every year, Sylhet receives hundreds and thousands of pilgrims to the
Dargahs of Shah Jalal and Shah Paran. Sylhet is also famed for its natural
setting, amidst rainforests, waterfalls, hills and river valleys. Sylhet is a
hub of the tea but derives more money from its people who have emigrated abroad
over the years, especially to Britain. Sylhet is also a center of the Bangladeshi
oil and gas sector, with the country’s largest natural gas reserves located in
Sylhet Division.

Not many are watching or
following - the T20 World Cup for women
concurrently being held at Bangladesh
alongside the Men’s version. In a recent
match, India
chasing 129 set by Srilankan women made 106/9, losing the match by 22
runs. The ICC Women's World Twenty20 for
women runs parallel to the men's ICC World Twenty20. The event organized by International Cricket Council
has eight teams, the top six teams of the ICC Women's T20 rankings and the rest
two determined by a qualification process. The tournament was first held in
2009, when hosts England won
the tournament; followed by West Indies hosting the event in 2010, and Sri Lanka in
2012. The 2014 version is held in Bangladesh and in 2016, it would happen in India.

Mithali Raj tosses - Sasikala Siriwardene and David Boon looks on

Not many would
know that the Women’s World Cup (ODI format) was first held in 1973 in England, a good two years before the inaugural
Men’s Prudential World Cup, won by Clive Lloyd’s West
Indies. In the first
version of Women Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago
and Young England appeared. The most recent tournament, the 2013 Women's
Cricket World Cup, was held in India
and in the finals, Australia
beat West Indies by 114 runs at the Brabourne
Stadium.

Away in Costa Rica, the 2014 FIFA U-17
Women's World Cup, the 4th edition of the youth association football tournament
for women under the age of 17 is underway.
The tourney was to conclude on 4th Apr 2014 but has been re-scheduled a
day in advance due to government elections there. The first round of the 2014 Under-17 Women’s
World Cup concluded recently ~ the host
country will not be marching on after Italy eliminated the Ticas last
Tuesday. The eight remaining teams will battle for
a spot in the semifinals - those in fray
are : Canada, Venezuela; Italy,
Ghana; Mexico, Japan;
Spain, Nigeria.